Michael Gates's Blog, page 9
March 6, 2020
How dare you call my face CABALLINE!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
CABALLINE (adjective)
Suitable for or pertaining to a horse
"How do you expect me to swallow such a caballine tablet?" Mr. Hargreaves asked the bewildered pharmacist. (TWITO, page 26)
CABALLINE (adjective)
Suitable for or pertaining to a horse
"How do you expect me to swallow such a caballine tablet?" Mr. Hargreaves asked the bewildered pharmacist. (TWITO, page 26)
February 28, 2020
Your ANFRACTUOSITY is confusing me!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
ANFRACTUOSITY (noun)
The quality of having many many twists and turns
"There are chance anfractuosities of ruin in the upper portions of the Coliseum which offer a very fair imitation of the rugged face of an Alpine cliff."
--Henry James, Italian Hours (1909)
Speaking of Henry James, he's a pretty anfractuous writer, in my reading experience. Even the title of perhaps his most famous work, The Turn of the Screw, is twisty. And here's a typically anfractuous Jamesian sentence: "He fairly caught himself shooting rueful glances, shy looks of pursuit, toward the embodied influence, the definite adversary, who had, by a stroke of her own, failed him, and on a fond theory of whose palpable presence he had, under Mrs. Newsome's inspiration, altogether proceeded." If you can parse that, you’re a better ex-English major than I am. (TWITO, page 14)
ANFRACTUOSITY (noun)
The quality of having many many twists and turns
"There are chance anfractuosities of ruin in the upper portions of the Coliseum which offer a very fair imitation of the rugged face of an Alpine cliff."
--Henry James, Italian Hours (1909)
Speaking of Henry James, he's a pretty anfractuous writer, in my reading experience. Even the title of perhaps his most famous work, The Turn of the Screw, is twisty. And here's a typically anfractuous Jamesian sentence: "He fairly caught himself shooting rueful glances, shy looks of pursuit, toward the embodied influence, the definite adversary, who had, by a stroke of her own, failed him, and on a fond theory of whose palpable presence he had, under Mrs. Newsome's inspiration, altogether proceeded." If you can parse that, you’re a better ex-English major than I am. (TWITO, page 14)
February 21, 2020
Are we keeping you up? Don't OSCITATE!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
OSCITATE (verb)
To yawn or gape
"There are persons whose physical constitutions are so delicate that mere thoughts of taking snuff (and medicines generally) produce the same effect as inhaling the powder itself: now, if the imagination of the reader has a similar influence over his system, he can have no disposition to oscitate while finishing the chapter; on the contrary, the greatest obstacle to his progress will arise from a disposition to sneeze."
--Thomas Ewbank, The Spoon (1844) (TWITO, page 104)
OSCITATE (verb)
To yawn or gape
"There are persons whose physical constitutions are so delicate that mere thoughts of taking snuff (and medicines generally) produce the same effect as inhaling the powder itself: now, if the imagination of the reader has a similar influence over his system, he can have no disposition to oscitate while finishing the chapter; on the contrary, the greatest obstacle to his progress will arise from a disposition to sneeze."
--Thomas Ewbank, The Spoon (1844) (TWITO, page 104)
February 8, 2020
Ahh! Don't make me SPANGHEW like that!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
SPANGHEW [SPANG-hyoo] (verb)
To throw or jerk violently, to cause to fly into the air, to jump like a toad or frog
"Damien enjoyed sneaking up behind Mildred, tapping her on the shoulder, and watching her spanghew." (TWITO, page 139)
SPANGHEW [SPANG-hyoo] (verb)
To throw or jerk violently, to cause to fly into the air, to jump like a toad or frog
"Damien enjoyed sneaking up behind Mildred, tapping her on the shoulder, and watching her spanghew." (TWITO, page 139)
January 31, 2020
Feeling ACEPHALIC today? It's Friday!
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's....
acephalia (noun) acephalic (adjective)
The absence of a head or the absence of a brain
"Comparative anatomy, and acephalic monstrosities among the mammalia and man, furnish incontrovertible proofs of the brain not being the origin of the nervous system at large."
--Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, The Anatomy of the Brain (1826)
Yoko Ono once said, "Consider if it is such a catastrophe to live without your head." She added that it might make it easier to move around, since one's body would be so much lighter. Zen humor aside, I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a state of acephalia. I often live in my head -- the curse or blessing of the introvert, depending on how you look at it. I do have a rich interior life that would be hard to give up.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of the nattering jukebox of stuck records that is sometimes set to forte in my head, though.
TWITO, page 10
acephalia (noun) acephalic (adjective)
The absence of a head or the absence of a brain
"Comparative anatomy, and acephalic monstrosities among the mammalia and man, furnish incontrovertible proofs of the brain not being the origin of the nervous system at large."
--Johann Gaspar Spurzheim, The Anatomy of the Brain (1826)
Yoko Ono once said, "Consider if it is such a catastrophe to live without your head." She added that it might make it easier to move around, since one's body would be so much lighter. Zen humor aside, I can't imagine what it would be like to live in a state of acephalia. I often live in my head -- the curse or blessing of the introvert, depending on how you look at it. I do have a rich interior life that would be hard to give up.
I wouldn't mind getting rid of the nattering jukebox of stuck records that is sometimes set to forte in my head, though.
TWITO, page 10
January 19, 2020
Would you like GHOTI for dinner?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today it's...
GHOTI (noun)
Alternate spelling of "fish"
"What’s this on the menu?" Jordan asked. "It says 'Ghoti'."
"I think they mean fish," Sheila replied. "The chef is a bit pretentious."
Ghoti can be pronounced like "fish":
gh, pronounced like "f" as in tough;
o, pronounced like "i" as in women; and
ti, pronounced like "sh" as in nation
TWITO, page 60
GHOTI (noun)
Alternate spelling of "fish"
"What’s this on the menu?" Jordan asked. "It says 'Ghoti'."
"I think they mean fish," Sheila replied. "The chef is a bit pretentious."
Ghoti can be pronounced like "fish":
gh, pronounced like "f" as in tough;
o, pronounced like "i" as in women; and
ti, pronounced like "sh" as in nation
TWITO, page 60
December 29, 2019
Is your drone VOLITANT?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
VOLITANT (adj)
1. Flying, or capable of flying.
2. Moving about rapidly.
"When Mother gets violent, frying pans get volitant." (TWITO, page 157)
A variant is VOLITATION (TWITO, page 158) = the act of flying; flight. "Dreams of volitation led Professor Spillings to invent many crash-prone flying machines."
VOLITANT (adj)
1. Flying, or capable of flying.
2. Moving about rapidly.
"When Mother gets violent, frying pans get volitant." (TWITO, page 157)
A variant is VOLITATION (TWITO, page 158) = the act of flying; flight. "Dreams of volitation led Professor Spillings to invent many crash-prone flying machines."
December 24, 2019
Is your Xmas tree CLINQUANT?
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....
CLINQUANT (adj)
Glittering, but usually in a false or cheap way, like tinsel
"No, there are too many of these fine sparks you talk of who perhaps may be very clinquant, slight, and bright and make a very pretty show at first, but the tinsel-gentlemen do so tarnish in the wearing, there's no enduring them."
--Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso (1676)
I once had a cat that liked to eat the tinsel (of the "icicle" type) off the Christmas tree. Maybe he had an iron deficiency. Anyway, he always threw it up later, in a sort of shiny hairball, which was both pretty from a distance and disgusting close up -- like many things, I guess. (TWITO, page 32)
CLINQUANT (adj)
Glittering, but usually in a false or cheap way, like tinsel
"No, there are too many of these fine sparks you talk of who perhaps may be very clinquant, slight, and bright and make a very pretty show at first, but the tinsel-gentlemen do so tarnish in the wearing, there's no enduring them."
--Thomas Shadwell, The Virtuoso (1676)
I once had a cat that liked to eat the tinsel (of the "icicle" type) off the Christmas tree. Maybe he had an iron deficiency. Anyway, he always threw it up later, in a sort of shiny hairball, which was both pretty from a distance and disgusting close up -- like many things, I guess. (TWITO, page 32)
December 22, 2019
Would you like a TANTARA when you enter the room?
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today it's...
TANTARA (noun)
A trumpet or horn fanfare
“Augusta always made quite an impression. Whenever she entered a room, I could almost hear a tantara.” (TWITO, page 145)
TANTARA (noun)
A trumpet or horn fanfare
“Augusta always made quite an impression. Whenever she entered a room, I could almost hear a tantara.” (TWITO, page 145)
December 9, 2019
Sleepy? Solve your problems the HYPNOETIC way
What's the word I'm thinking of? Today, it's...
HYPNOETIC (adjective)
Pertaining to logical but unconscious mental processes
"When Horace said he would 'sleep on it,' we knew the problem was about to be solved, thanks to his hypnoetic talents." (TWITO, page 68)
HYPNOETIC (adjective)
Pertaining to logical but unconscious mental processes
"When Horace said he would 'sleep on it,' we knew the problem was about to be solved, thanks to his hypnoetic talents." (TWITO, page 68)
